


we'll learn and grow together

by sekhmettt



Series: to make our own way forward [2]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Conversations, F/F, Female Bonding, Female Friendship, Fluff, Gen, and here i said i wouldn't continue this series lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:48:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26505427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sekhmettt/pseuds/sekhmettt
Summary: Sansa has trusted Shae and escaped the Red Keep with her. Now she looks for answers to some of her questions.
Relationships: (mentioned) - Relationship, Shae & Sansa Stark, Tyrion Lannister/Shae
Series: to make our own way forward [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1926961
Comments: 10
Kudos: 52





	we'll learn and grow together

Despite stopping first at Pentos, where they were supposed to disembark and make their way to buy a manse and find a way to support themselves, Shae had paid the man with some of her gold, in order to allow them to continue on board. It was a merchant vessel, stopping at both Bravos and Lorath after Pentos and it was no hardship to take a gold dragon or two to keep aboard two ladies who spent all their time in their cabin and bothered no one. Another precaution of Shae, for while they had been promised safe passage, she didn’t trust the sailors if pretty ladies wandered the decks. After her time with the mob, Sansa did not object to the confinement.

Sansa had never thought to leave King’s Landing, unless it was to go to Casterly Rock, once she had a Lannister babe at her breast. Even in her wildest dreams, it was always North that she would go, to a Winterfell that was still standing, its halls filled with the laughter and love of her family, still alive and well. But no. She was the last Stark, and she was going East, not North.

There was no news on the ship, for ravens couldn’t find an ever-moving vessel on the sea. Yet, Sansa could imagine the outrage. Joffrey must have sent letters to every house in every kingdom, demanding the return of his plaything, even now that he would be wedded and bedded to Margaery, the poor girl. She hoped that Tyrion wasn’t blamed for losing his wife. She may not have trusted him, but he was kind, and he hardly deserved his family’s ire for something that wasn’t even his fault.

It was a long journey, and dreadfully dull and she felt uncomfortably worthless, what with Shae paying for the entire journey. So, Sansa sewed the holes in the sailor’s clothing, anything that the cabin boys dropped off in the morning. And in return, Shae got to keep more of her gold. _Their_ gold, the woman kept insisting, but it made Sansa uncomfortable, made her feel greedy that she’d take her handmaiden’s hard-earned money. In truth, the pouch of gold was rather large. It must have taken years to save up. She had no idea that servants in the Red Keep were paid so well. There was more modest pay in the North, but then, everything in the North was modest compared to the frivolous spending and showing off of the South.

There was one thing that bothered her, and it took her until the eve of their arrival in Bravos to look up from her sewing and dare to ask Shae, “Why now?” _Why did you run with me? You could have continued to live a comfortable life in the Red Keep._ “Why did we run now?”

Shae paused for a long moment, and she thought that the older woman might not answer her. Until, finally, with a sigh, Shae tilted her head back, bold and proud, for all that her eyes seemed uncertain, “I was no lady’s maid. You knew that. I was a whore…your lord husband’s whore, in fact.” Then she paused, seeming to wait expectantly for Sansa’s rage. Yet, it never came. Sansa simply sat in silence, contemplative. She could not fault Lord Tyrion, when his wife would not go to his bed and do her duty. And it was not as if anyone knew of Shae’s existence, so there was no shame to it. At least, Sansa didn’t think anyone knew. If Sansa couldn’t know what was happening in her own household, how could anyone else know? Plus, Shae had been her handmaiden far longer than Tyrion had been her husband. If anything, Sansa was the one that stepped in and interrupted their relationship. Perhaps not a whore than, but a lover.

_She is young, like me._ Perhaps not quite as young, but certainly not Lord Tyrion’s age. Only a few years older than Sansa, at most. Was that how long she would have had, before Tyrion’s patience waned and he was willing to lie with his unwilling wife? Yet, Shae did not seem upset about being bought by Lord Tyrion. She seemed more upset that she was now free of him.

“You loved him?” Perhaps it was her pointless, foolish love of romance stories and songs, pushing the idea, but no. She was smarter than that now, and even if she could not keep up with the great liars and tricksters of the court, she could at least read _Shae’s_ face.

“I was a _whore_. He was a _Lord_. My only purpose was to please him, and I did until he tired of me.” It was not an answer, but all the things she didn’t say were enough. Pushing aside the sewing, Sansa stood and plopped down onto Shae’s bed, pulling the surprised woman into a hug.

Murmuring into her hair, “You’re not a whore anymore. When we get to Bravos, we will have enough coin to buy a home. And then I will find work with a seamstress. I’ve always loved sewing and embroidery. Or perhaps I’ll become a singer? I still remember my lessons with the harp.” Pushing the ideas away, she continued, pulling back to look her in the eyes and firmly state, “Regardless, you won’t have to do that again. You know how to be a lady’s maid now. Perhaps there aren’t any Westerosi ladies there, but you know how to cook and do laundry, and even halfway across the world, people still need those things…” A pause, “Right?”

A rather wet sounding laugh was her answer, Shae’s eyes glistening brightly, followed by her pulling Sansa back into another hug and pressing a kiss to her temple, “I love you, sweet girl.” It didn’t feel condescending or _wrong_ as it did when Lord Baelish used to call her sweet girl. If felt as if Shae actually meant the words, like Sansa was just a sweet girl again, before the strife and hardship of her life had made her into a woman before her time. It was _nice_.

Shae pulled back, pulling herself together with hardly a sniff, before commenting slyly, “You know, if I was going to be a whore anywhere, Bravos is the place to do it. They have _courtesans_ , who get their own barges and servants. I think I’d rather like being served.” She laughed at the expression on Sansa’s face, uncertain and scandalized as it was.

Flushing, Sansa tilted her chin up, “If that’s what you want.” She let the stubborn set of her jaw fade, pulling her legs up onto the bed and tucking her feet under her. “In Bravos we can be _anything_.” It was like the ship game they’d played, where they guessed who and what was on ships in the Blackwater, and where they were going. Only it was better, because they were the ones on the ship, deciding their own destiny. “I’ll be a seamstress or a singer. You can be…an actress or a lady who serves ale at the tavern.”

“You know, most of those ladies _are_ whores, except the oldest and most matronly ones.” Shae teased, and Sansa flushed again. Appeasing her and her naivete, Shae continued, “Perhaps I’ll be one of the harbor girls, who shout about selling clams and cockles. Or maybe I’ll learn medicine from a midwife and become a healer.”

Pleased, Sansa asked, “Have you ever been to Bravos?” When Shae shook her head, she beamed. “Then it will be a new adventure for both of us!” She knew that she should be warier than this, should not be so excited, so giddy, but for now it didn’t matter _._ One way or another, she was out of the Red Keep, out of Joffrey’s gaze and Cersei’s words, and she was _never_ going back. Sansa was _free_.

**Author's Note:**

> And I oop - 
> 
> I said I wasn't continuing this, but here we are. Oops. They're heading to Bravos now. There's a hint of what's to come in something that Shae says, see if you can spot it, eh? 
> 
> Also, I pulled Shae's age down a little bit closer to her book counterpart, but not all the way. I'm imagining her like mid-twenties. Sansa like late teens, early twenties maybe. I don't know, it doesn't matter that much, just thought I'd mention it. 
> 
> That being said, if you have the money to spare, feel free to buy me a [ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/sekhmettt) in this trying time. God knows I need it. If you do and have a fic request for this series or anything else, let me know and I’ll definitely give it my best shot. <3


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